Prepaid
wireless is a growing and truly exciting industry. At
Prepaid-Wireless-Guide.com I try to provide you with in-depth
information that isn't readily available anywhere else. The
content is original, and created from firsthand experience working in
the prepaid wireless industry for over a decade.

This monthly email provides you
with a quick glance at what's trending in the news so that you
can
easily keep
informed. I believe in brief, to-the-point
summaries/commentary
so that you can move onto other tasks in your day. Each
snippet
includes a link to the original story should you be interested in the
full details.

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Note:I
do not have any affiliation,
nor do I get paid by any of the sites that I link to below.
They
are simply topics that I deemed interesting, and provide a link for you
to learn more, and I give credit to the source by listing their name
under the title. Enjoy!

Boost Mobile Launches ZTE Warp 7 SmartphoneeWeek
At
$99 this smartphone has a 5.5" HD display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor,
2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and expandable microSD
card
storage. It also has 13MP and 5MP rear and front facing
cameras,
respectively. This is quite a powerful device for the price
on a
carrier that offers much more compelling plans when compared to
Verizon. As always, it's great to see so many options for
prepaid
customers!

Verizon Launches Moto G4 Play
Prepaid SmartphoneTech Times
This
new lower cost smartphone is going for $85, and has some excellent
specifications. It's got a 5" HD display, 1.2GHz quad core
processor,
2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, as well as a microSD expansion
slot. There's also 8MP and 5MP rear and front facing
cameras,
respectively. In addition, in has a water repellent
nano-coating to
help with spills and rain.
These specs are actually quite
impressive
when compared to much higher priced Galaxy and iPhones from just a
couple of years ago. For people seeking highly respectable
performance
for an extremely attractive price, this is definitely an option worth
considering. Unfortunately, Verizon is known as one of the
least
competitive carriers in the prepaid market when it comes to plan
pricing.Boost Mobile Discontinues Free Phone Offer
to SwitchersAndroid HeadlinesBoost is no longer offering free smartphones for switchers,
however, are still offering a $50 bill credit after two months of
service. The reality is that history has shown that heavy
phone subsidies, particularly those resulting in free phones, does not
yield long term loyal customers.
That's why contracts were so
necessary in order to offer heavily discounted or free phones.
That said, the cost of acquiring a new phone is typically the
greatest barrier for customers when switching. Perhaps a
carrier will trial offering a complete refund on a phone after a
customer stays for 12 or 18 months; that could be well worth the
investment! In the meantime, carriers are focusing largely on
offering unlimited data plans, which have come full circle since the
initial launch of unlimited prepaid plans.

Verizon Now Makes VoLTE Available for
Prepaid CustomersWireless Week
On Sept 25, Verizon prepaid customers have access to HD voice, which
provides higher quality calls. Note that both callers must have HD
voice capable devices. Video calling, 6-way conference
calling, and voice over WiFi and LTE also come with HD voice.
Keep in mind, however, that Verizon is generally the weakest
prepaid offering in the market, so be sure to compare plans as always!

Cricket Now Sells the iPhone 7 and
7 PlusGSMArena.com
So the rumor was true. As of last week, Cricket is selling
the iPhone 7 and 7 plus in 32GB and 128GB version in either black or
gold. The kicker is the pricing, which ranges from $650 to
$870. It seems obvious that a financing option will be the
preferred approach to get one of these devices!

FLOW Lend App Offers Micro Loans for Prepaid
CustomersGo Jamaica (press release)
FLOW Lend is an app that allows
prepaid customers to get short term
loans to directly topup your prepaid wireless account. You
have to make three consecutive on-time wireless payments before you
become eligible to receive a loan. Loans must be repaid
within 30 days, or your account will be deactivated, and the
outstanding loan will be submitted to collections as bad debt.
It's not clear to me how FLOW is connected to prepaid
carriers to apply payments, sweep future topup funds to pay back the
loan, or disconnect the account in the case of a failed re-payment.
I'm also not clear on their business model; does the carrier
pay them a fee for enabling their customer to continue using their
phone? There are no user fees according to their app details.
I'm in the process of contacting the company to learn more
about these technical details.

That said, it could be a life saver for those who just need a bit of
help getting through a month here and there.
Though please be
mindful that even a small amount of money that goes to collections can
devastate your credit score, which will cost you hundreds on a car
loan, or even tens of thousands on a home mortgage. Thus,
proceed with caution, and consider forgoing your daily coffee for a
week to fund your phone before getting into these types of micro loans.

Cricket Wireless Launches New Entry Level
PlanAndroid Community
Cricket has a new $30 price point for unlimited voice, text, and 1GB of
high speed data. While this particular plan isn't any better
than a myriad of other carriers, it does represent a new lower entry
point for Cricket service, which is generally very competitive.

Comments?
Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this zine and
tell me what you think!